Rainy Trail

Calypso Cascades – Ouzell Falls (2.7 miles each way)

Rocky scale –maybe 2 , beaten only by Bear Lake (paved for god’s sake)

Sandals today – glorious, no foot problems

It started raining at the top when we reached the falls. I put on a light shirt just to block most of the rain and went down the trail all alone. ‘Twas glorious and tranquil, the whole world seems to get quiet when it rains in the midst of trees. You can only hear the soft pitter-patter, a delicate soft sound, introducing a sparkle to the trees. I almost wish it would rain more.

Problem? No steel shank in my shoes to enforce proper alignment

Knee problems now - perhaps weird tendon strained

Thrift store – first visit for a year, and sadly, I didn’t really find anything exciting to buy. It's still one of my favorite places to visit though.

Currently reading – Seven Up by Janet Evanovich

Hiking Begins

Mitchell Lake – Blue Lake

Rocky, 2.5 + miles each way

Was the lake blue? yep

Blistered and pitiful? Yeah

Still boucy? Check :)

My family and I were searching for new trails to hike and explore and ended up not going to Rocky Mountain National Park, but instead the Indian Peaks Wilderness Area. The difference? Dogs are allowed. So we got to see lots of happy people with their dogs, and I must say that all the dogs we met were supremely well-behaved.

Currently reading: Undead and Unemployed by MaryJanice Davidson

Because of the looks I get when I tell people that yes, the undead woman in this book is a vampire, I feel compelled instantly to defend this book. It is really quite funny and has none of the cultish vampire clichés that would ruin it. The value of this book is that it actually puts a new twist on the genre, making it highly amusing, and combining it with straight-up chic-lit (as girly as it can get). As a huge fan of situational comedy, it was delightful to find that a new-age vampire can get into so many awkwardly amusing situations. Halfway through the book I was giggling as I read, and by the end it was laugh-out –loud funny. Description on the side – Paranormal Romance, instead of the usual – Mystery, Thriller, Fiction, etc. Highly recommended, just don’t tell people it’s about vampires or they might shut the steel door of their minds immediately to a bright and shiny new experience.

Colorado Begins

Our first day in Colorado ends up being a day of rest. My mother fought for this decision and she won, her best arguments being a need for altitude adjustment and groceries. Hard to argue with – especially because of our Texan weakness to elevation (you should see the things that happen to us when we ignore elevation changes).

We went into Longmont to do our shopping. We went to the farmer’s market, skipped the Target as it was apparently being demolished, stopped at Mickey C’s bagels (yay!), a random garage sale for fun, and the nice Safeway. All the time I had a strange sensation knowing that I was in Matt’s hometown without Matt. Just weird. If we return I might have to do creepy things, but for now I’m safe of any absentee stalking (Oh you went to school here hmm? You live where?).

Upon return, we opened up all the windows and doors again (great cabin!) and this time a hummingbird flew into the house. Such tiny birds were something I hadn’t contemplated a great deal before, so it came as somewhat of an obvious realization that something so small would naturally have a brain the size of grain of rice, uncooked. It kept trying to get out of the screen covering the skylight. It didn’t the mental processes required to note that it wasn’t working and perhaps to try a new exit. My father encouraged it to move places with a broom (no we didn’t beat it with a broom, just a blocking object is enough to herd a hummingbird). ;) Still stupid, so it comes down to the window at my feet, smacks into it really, and tries for eternity to escape that way. My mother, concerned over the little pathetic bird’s plight, tries a new tactic. She takes a soft white shirt and covers him like others would cover a birdcage. It works, the poor thing stops moving and clings to the shirt, and my mother takes it outside and releases it. Cheers!

Later that evening, we went to the YMCA because they had a concert. The group was called the Star Edwards Band, and it had a harp, a guitar, and a percussionist. We arrived about 3 minutes late because we got stuck behind the slowest car ever, and as we walked in they were butchering a very old, very beautiful song. It was clear to us that they wrote their own arrangements, and it was also very clear that this was not a good idea. The songs needed to be cut in half, the melodies became so plodding I was tempted to go find food to throw, the guitar player needed help (his improvisation was possibly worse than a high school kid and he was really proud of it), their main form of arrangement was something like 16 measures and repeat, and added to all this was a bad synthetic percussion line and a lifelessness on stage. ‘Twas a shame because I was looking forward to the harp music. By herself, she was pretty good, but add in the others and the arrangement – ick.

My father and I shifted uncomfortably in our seats. It’s always a question of how long to stay and when it would be the most polite time to leave and escape. I occasionally shook with contained laughter and my mother poked me, on occasion I would look at my father and he would grin, but on the whole we were doing fairly well, behaved subtly and no objects landed on stage at our will.

This good behavior ended when the guitarist announced his own song. He described it as having a kid of Asian theme, and introduced it as “Chinatown (something)”. Momentarily the percussionist presses the foot pedal for a canned beat that belonged in a 60’s song, and the song begins. It has no Asian theme, is bland to the point of boredom, is plagued with improv runs the guy can’t do, and the good behavior of my family ended. I retract that, my mother behaved well. J

The instant the beat came on my father tried containment. He started to curl up a little in his chair, then turned towards me, away from the band, his hand went over his mouth because he couldn’t hide the smile, he shook a little, and poked me when I looked at him (because this only made it worse). I tried to hide behind my jacket, keep shaking to a minimum, and certainly not look at my father because it nearly always produced a near guffaw and many times brought me to tears.

We made it to the end of the song, not gracefully, and then my father took off to the bathroom. They started another song, a Celtic one this time in honor of the woman’s Celtic harp, and after I decided that I didn’t want the “8 measure and repeat” practice to ruin the song for me, I decided we should go wait for him in the lobby and then leave. We leave the building and start giggling. Normally my family doesn’t giggle, that’s left to me, but this was a special occasion. Then we continue giggling, almost to the point of hysteria. We were in tears by the time we reached the car, and talking about the band was difficult because we were laughing so hard. We sat in the car, giggling more, then finally after some minutes starting to recover. Good times. My father felt it was a waste of gas, on the other hand, we were entertained.

Road Trip - Destination and Destiny Combined

Last day of heavy travel until our return. Through Kansas – flat, into Colorado –flat. Eventually we started to see the ethereal outlines of the mountains through miles of atmosphere. At first just some dark blue on the horizon, later some of the edges started to show through. The excitement grew.

The year before my mother had taken a wrong turn or failed to get on the right road and we’d found a way to bypass Denver. My parents hate to drive through Denver and it wasn’t a bad route last year, so we thought we’d try it again. Thing is, this path was just as deserted and flat as Kansas was. Exciting thing is, my Daddy hit a tumbleweed! A bona fide tumbleweed! “I killed it,” he said, his voice slightly grieving. Came out of nowhere, ran (tumbled) into his path. :D

We reached our cabin (Hummingbird cabin) just outside of Allenspark and sighed with glorious contentment. It was a perfect little vacation cabin. It was almost all white, tons of windows, surrounded by hummingbirds, decorated in shabby chic style, right beside a little creek, had a lovely back porch with oh-so-comfy chairs, and the air smelled of a clean vanilla (how I love thee Ponderosa pines).

We were sitting outside, making up plans for the night and next day when a guy across the creek started acting strangely. He was saying bear, pointing, and getting down on all fours. At first I thought he was overly friendly and weird, but the pointing was interesting so I hopped up to have a better look. A bear! It was on top of the roof of the cabin across the creek. A big black bear. The first bear I’ve ever seen wild. My daddy took some pictures, it roamed around for a short while and then disappeared. It appeared again on the rooftop during our dinner. We think it’s the same bear that tore up the door to the shed of our cabin. Hmmm. Cute though. J

Anyways, time to spend the night in our awesome little cabin. Yay for Colorado and interior design!

Road Trip Continues

Early to rise in my sister’s house. They normally get up before 6 and leave before 7, beginning their long commute to ugly Waco.

Nothing too much to report on today. My parents are ice cream freaks, which I knew, so we stopped at a couple of Brauhm’s stores, at which they showed their fetishlike devotion. Oklahoma is flat. Kansas is flat. Corn, wheat, sunflowers. Pretty, but not too exciting.

One highlight of my day was actually outside a Brahum’s store, across the street. There were men there in stripes doing yardwork. Surely not, I thought. Was it a gimmick, some funny little advertising stint that got some poor yard guys to wear prison stripes? Finally, with the addition of the law enforcement officer stepping into view as they went around the building did I realize it was real. I saw prisoners in stripes doing yardwork. Honest to God. Why this made me so excited I don’t know. Why I was so disbelieving I don’t know. But I thought it was of note, probably because nothing much else in my day was.

Another highlight was learning that all Texas rest stops are, or are going to be, wireless hot spots. This was something that happened while I was away and when I get time, I’m going to look it up and learn more about it. But, good job Texas, you get a slight nod.

We reached our planned destination for Kansas and started thinking about dinner. Turns out there wasn’t much, and we ended up getting Domino’s pizza. Boy have I missed pizza. I did notice something though as my parents and I were trying to make decisions. I believe my little jaunt to Asia is responsible too. I am more willing than before to do two things 1) pay for convenience (in this case delivery) and 2) ask people questions (if you don’t ask in a place where you don’t read the local language, you may never find out – frankly, I’m happy to be in a place where 99% of the questions I ask a stranger will be understood).

**A side note here – I’m actually not thrilled that everyone speaks English. The joy I used to find in eavesdropping on people is not returning. The majority of the conversations going on I’m not interested in, and many I don’t want to hear, and for some, I go into full out avoidance mode (moving tables, moving aisles, moving stores) and if forced to listen, find myself dumber at the end as well as perhaps a little embittered.

What did keep me occupied all day was a very good history book. It’s called Is Paris Burning, written all the way back in 1965. It deals with Paris at the end of WWII and all the little machinations that went on with Hitler, the Communists, de Gaulle, the revolutionary Frenchmen, reporters, etc in a short span of time before Paris was liberated. It goes with the premise that you care about Paris and its treasures and don’t want them burned, bombed, and razed to the ground. Hitler wanted Paris to be defended, destroyed, and offer nothing to the Allies. The title is a quote from Hitler. Entrancing really- very well written, intense and dramatic without having to fictionalize anything. I learned much and encourage anyone interested to read it.

Road Trip Begins!

To Waco! We left in the morning, the start of our non-stressful travel day. It’s only 3 hours or so to Waco, then we would spend the day with my sister Amy, and later add Aaron and Andrew too. I left home without a book, knowing we would pick up many along our route.

Our first stop was to pick up Amy, who’d taken a half day off work to play with us. We went to Mama Baris, an Italian restaurant, where Aaron joined us. He was late because he had to go scare his kid into a bit of discipline so he’d stop hitting on other kids (their babysitter doesn’t like to use corporal punishment). And I started a disturbing trend, not unknown to some of you, where I kind of adjust to incredible heat, walk inside a building that’s air-conditioned, and walk right back out to get a jacket because otherwise I would spend the next hour freezing and occasionally jerking in little spasms because of the chill. Repeat at dinner.

Next, we took off the bookstore, Golden’s. We like it because they’re all used books and it’s cheap. My sister likes it because the libraries in Waco are somewhat pitiful. We took in my box of books to get rid of and gave the credit to my sister (probably not much honestly) and spend the next hour or so wandering the aisles. My sister ends up with a basketful for herself. I find two, my dad finds two, and then we look for something for Aaron to read. I pick out my favorite Robin Cook book, Acceptable Risk, Mom suggests a random Tami Hoag book. Last, Dad, Amy and I wander over to the somewhat hidden, highly diluted erotic section (Waco eh) and picked out a little something something for the boy. Best we could do, now we just wait and see what he reads ;).

By the time we left, the accident that was attracting crowds when we arrived had been cleared up. A large 18-wheeler had been turning a wide right, and a little red truck had either been in the way or got in the way. So the red truck was still straight on the road, the problem was that the semi was now at a 45 degree angle crushed across the driver’s side seat.

We continue on, do some errands, run around, visit the mall, etc etc. As we drive around, I notice that Waco is the ugliest thing I’ve seen in a while. Flat, paved over, full of strips malls, lacking in aesthetics throughout the whole city. Strip malls never appealed to me much to begin with, and their sprawl capacities are now all too apparent to me. This was the first time I’ve noticed that it might be a little harder for me to adjust that I’d first imagined (besides all the fat people).

The night I got in it wasn’t a problem, I’ve spent numerous days in my home without a problem, my couple of trips to Austin weren’t a big deal (though generally I was occupied in my little seat and not noticing much around me), but Waco. Ugh. Waco was a problem. I looked around and felt disgust, that memory of my contempt for America, and my spirits noticeably took a dip. So much ugliness is hard to ignore, especially without anything to offer with it. All the strip malls seemed to offer really were various beauty stores. The irony.

The buildings all seemed to be made of aluminum and looked as though they weren’t finished. Everything was made to be a little box, one floor, next to another little box. There were no landmarks to be found and everything looked the same - ugly.

It’s made me take a second look at the schools on my list. Suddenly I realized that the location certainly did matter. Yes, there’s a school in Pittsburgh with a good program… but did I want to live in Pittsburgh?

This served to push me more heavily in the direction of the New York schools. Cities that are planned are always high on my list, cities with public transportation and parks. And really, when else am I going to get to live in New York?

Actually I have no concept of my future, but no sense in not taking such an opportunity.

Right. Back to the Waco mall. My family breezed through with our normal visits to Bath and Body Works, various places selling candles, etc. Aaron and Andrew met us there and we all took off to the Texas Roadhouse for my Dad’s birthday dinner.

Amy and I fed Andrew peanuts until we thought he would pop. Good times. He’s 2 now and starting to get fussy and wants to do things himself. Whew. Glad I’m not in charge of him, or any 2 yr olds.

Off to Amy’s house and Andrew to bed, soon after, everyone else to bed too.

G’night.

And I'm Off

I leave this morning, in less than an hour. Tonight we'll be in Waco, next night Kansas, 9 nights in a cabin in Colorado, Kansas, Waco, Home. The Waco stop for those of you who don't know is my sister and family A3 - Amy, Aaron, and Andrew. I haven't seen Andrew in a good long while and I'm a pretty excited aunt. ;) They say he's a little person now.

More importantly, today is also my Daddy's birthday! He's 52! Happy Birthday Dad!!!

He has recently begun to shave his head - I should get a picture of it for the blog. For this trip he has decided to shave it today, and then when he gets back. It's too much of a hassle apparently.

Anywho, off to travel again. Lovin' it.
Laters

Alive At Last !!

Last night I came alive again. After almost two weeks of sleeping and lounging and generally feeling lifeless, worthless, and not so great, my body took the exhilarating step of feeling better. Much better. My parents and I were out and about in Austin and suddenly I lost the glaze of film over my eyes, my permanent headache subsided (though it's back this morning - is it the house perhaps? unpacking all my dusty things?), and my body and brain finally coordinated in the "Hey I feel good!" mode.
We finished shopping and doing our errands with flair, only a small amount of dancing, lots of bounce in the step though. Our Austin trip finished too soon. I still had loads of energy, was almost giddy in fact. Well, ok, I was giddy, I did reach that level. So I called up a friend and went over. We stayed up far too late, throwing off my time schedule again. 'Twas worth it though.
*Contented sigh of happiness*
So wish me luck that it wasn't temporary, that I didn't mess it up with my time schedule, that it gets me up mountains, and maybe prehaps that I get to remain slightly giddy.
With feeling good, I have finally completely mellowed towards India. Yes, it was dirty, the horns annoyed me severely, etc etc, but I'm okay with it all now. I would even go again. I'd like to go again in fact. I probably wouldn't go alone next time and there are tons of places I'd like to see before returning to India, but I actually would like to return.
Goal for today: pack for Colorado.
Have a great day!!! :D

Greetings, Updates

I'd like to share more of what is going on in my life... except it's not much. If I'm not sleeping, reading or dwelling on my possible direction in life, I'm generally eating or watching movies. The movie from last night, besides having more twists and turns than I would care to summarize, has the only comic rape scene I've ever watched, and this, I assure you, would be hard to explain well. A rare film, Kika - go find it if you're intrigued.
I also recently watched War of the Worlds - 'twas horrid. Ugh. It got some pretty decent reviews too, which is even more disappointing.

I'm starting to find the direction I've been seeking to my life. I'm leaning in the direction of a Masters in Information and Library Sciences, specializing in preservation. Almost decided in fact. I had contemplated art conservation like paintings and such, but it turns out you need boatloads of art history and artistic talent. Oops. I also peeked into Historic preservation, but you generally need some buildings and architecture background. Besides, I've actually always wanted to be a librarian. How cool are librarians? C'mon.
Next step needed to get rolling on this path - pick a school, apply, etc. I've searched out a list of all the ALA accredited schools and am making a spreadsheet of all their pertinent data. I honestly can't tell you if this particular symptom of dorkiness is inherited or inherent. As I've been going down the list, I noticed that my decision may be far easier to make than I previously thought because only a handful of schools so far have the option to specialize in preservation. I've also been pleased to note that a good number of programs don't require GRE scores if you got above a 3.0 in your undergraduate work. Cheers!
So I'm getting fairly excited about all that, though I believe there will be some debt involved. Not as much as I'd originally feared, and it will certainly stay in the low 5 digit range. Excited to go back to school, excited to play with books, excited to be doing something I love, excited to have a direction. I know one of the huge selling points of my last school was the library. It was just that at the time noone had told me I'd have about 10 3-yr olds and the library was going to be filled with stuffed animals that kids couldn't possibly resist.
I'm also preparing for my next vacation, 9 days in Colorado! Almost two weeks if you count the road trip. :) I've started going through boxes and getting out hiking clothes. More excitement.
Well, that's about all the news I've got. Unless something truly exciting happens in Colorado I prob won't be blogging from there, so there won't be an update for a bit. Until next time, au revoir.

Flashpoint

Danger and drama, so rare for the serene environment of the quiet place I live that it comes in miniature form, and is often mocked when I relate it as high excitement.
But it must be so. There was excitement this morning. :D
Setup the scene - My father and I are inside at the kitchen table, sipping our hot tea (mmm). My mother is outside with the two cats filling up birdbaths and water fountains.
All of a sudden, seemingly out of nowhere, comes a goliath dog, out to chase things and happy to turn them into his new chew toys. Inside, insulated, I probably wouldn't have noticed much except the swift and noticable actions of my mother drew my attention. She instantly slung down the hose and started running for the door, calling the cats to her. A running woman never fails to catch a dog's attention and Poncho (silly but great name for a dog) steered his course to run up to her. Ziggy, in line with my mother, was swift of paws and so made it to my mother before the dog. She scooped him up, simultaneously opening the door, tossing him inside and swiftly closing it. She turned around immediately and put her hands down to block/pet the dog at her heels. Now comes the time for Annie to make her break. She had been stranded in the garden area, cut off from the door. Now with the dog past her she streaks across the patio and runs up a wall to the deck while my mother attempts to restrain Poncho and keep him occupied. Both cats are now safely inside, in a 3 second time-span in which I didn't even have time to stand up. Hero of the day - my mum. ;)
Though Poncho is normally just a big, goofy dog who likes to bound around very happy-go-lucky and escape his pen every other week or so, my parents still fear his strength and ability to decimate a pair of small felines. Rightly so. I grew up with a theory of prevention. It was strongly enforced in High School by observation and a very insistent theatre director - thanks Mr. Wyatt.
My cats went into hiding for a while, but came out eventually and regained a little of their character that was intact before they were scared witless. I think though, that they have probably had enough outside time for today.
Anyway folks, that's the news from Lake Wobegone. See you next time.
;)

Ziggy

Bundles of fur and purring, Ziggy is the new cat that my parents adopted shortly before my return home. Why did they adopt him? They're just too sweet not to, is all.
He started to hang around the backyard a while back (my mother keeps various fountains and bowls of water for animals to help them endure the intense Texas heat). He couldn't be ignored, so my mother talked to him, occassionally fed him, tried to find out where he belonged. Turns out he "belongs" to a family across the golf course, but was being severely neglected. Given neither food nor water, he was not in an ideal situation. My mother, soft heart that she is, called everyone possible to find out what the deal was. ARF told her that if an animal was not given food or water for three days, not only was it neglected, it was abandoned. She tried every way she could think of to contact the woman that "owned" the cat, but she was unsuccessful. Conclusion - my parents adopted another cat.
It was in pretty bad shape, so they started on fixing the poor creature up. First, of course, is neutering ;) a favorite for all the guys out there. Then they took him to the vet and got the rundown. It had a urinary tract infection for sure. They decided to fix that first, but they were leaving for their California vacation so they had to put it in the kennel at the vet's for that time. Poor Ziggy got his antibiotic shots every day and was kept in his little cage.
The morning after my parents got home (I was home too now!), we went to pick him up.
This of immediate note about Ziggy - A male cat. My first cat Boots was a male cat, but there hasn't been another until now. His name starts with a "Z". The family tradition of naming with A's was abrupted dropped, zooming all the way to the end of the alphabet. (Amy, Allison, Annie, Aaron, Abbie, Andrew) True that he was already named by the family that had him before, but surely we could have renamed him.
He turns out to be an extremely sweet cat. Adorable in that way that cats can be. He will hop into any open lap, curl up and purr for hours. The first time he got close to me was from a charge across the yard. I had sat down on a bench near the garden and he saw it - my lap was open. He turns towards me and started his attack, a fast and determined, stunningly purposeful, run from 15 feet away, ending with a graceful leap into my startled arms.
In accordance with my plan to sleep for a week upon returning, he is the perfect companion, cuddling up beside me and napping in unison. Last note - he cries. Or, if you insist, his eyes get watery. My mom says he's emotional - happy tears, sad tears. I asked if she'd talked to the vet about it. The vet hasn't said anything yet, so for now... I have a male cat that cries tears of joy. :D
Enjoy the pictures! Last one compliments of my Daddy. :)

Homedy Home Home

I am now officially home, in my very own bed. The house, thanks to my father, is now wireless. Yay! He says he did it just for me. What a guy.

I seem to be in my very own, very confused, time zone. It involves lots of sleep, though currently I find this highly enjoyable.

With my willful disregard and apathy for the news the past couple of weeks, I was unaware that terrorism had taken over some Mumbai train lines. The last news I had had of Mumbai was it flooding, trains stopping, people not getting to work, and people drowning. With the bomb attacks, a number of people became concerned for me and I contacted almost no one while in Hong Kong. I think everyone knows now, either through this blog or other means, though I can't be sure. Anyhow, I just looked impressively silly when I returned and they asked if I was glad I got away in time etc etc. Depending on my willingness to be embarrassed in front of each person, my response ranged from "Huh?" to "Uh.. yeah," until someone told me what was up.

For some more details of my flights - I arrived at the Hong Kong airport in plenty of time, seen off safely by Matt. (*FYI - for those of you interested, I've linked to his blog on the right side of this page and you can read his crazy China exploits.*) Got my bags rummaged through and then sealed, checked in, and sent off to a faraway gate. I dawdled here and there, so when I finally reached the gate I didn't have to wait for very long before the boarding began. 14 hour flight without incident. The flight was completely full, every seat occupied, and I felt a bit sorry for the flight attendants (the grand majority of which were male - odd). Next to me was a woman who didn't do anything but read the Bible, in two different languages, and fill out as many immigration forms as were available - I'm still unsure as to whether she had a visa or not, because she filled out the one for being without one and also the one for having one. Maybe she didn't understand the instrustions, but at least she was prepared. I watched all four movies on the flight - Firewall, Failure to Launch, Cinderella Man, and Walk the Line. I don't have much to say about these movies... Firewall was not impressive, nor was Failure to Launch (though more entertaining at least), I still dislike boxing, perhaps even more after watching more of it, nice try Russell Crowe, but you'll always be a superior asshole in my mind - at least if they keep type-casting you, I'll feel less and less oblidged to watch your movies. Walk the Line was good. I believe Reese Witherspoon made the movie what it is, and no doubt she'll stay America's sweetheart actress for years to come. And if you were unaware, Ring of Fire is really easy to get stuck in your head.

Chicaago. Arrival at O'Hare airport. Through Immigration - actually relieved to be in a society that knows what queing up is all about. Picked up my bags, filled out the customs form, they let me keep my bread - yay! - and then handed my bags back over to my airline counter. There was a repeating announcement about Hoof and Mouth Disease, and anyone who had been around livestock should go to such-and-such a place. Wellll, I had been around livestock, there are cows and pigs, goats and sheep, water buffallo and camels, all in the streets of India. Unfortunately for your safety I decided nay on the agricultural check - we'll see how it works out. :) My father actually has me under a slight quarantine (ie. he won't drink after me right now, he's giving me an incubation period). Plus because of my trip to India, I won't be able to give blood for three years because of Malaria. I'd like to take this time to note that I did not get sick in India despite my lack of vaccines and sad misplacement and therefore non-use of mosquito repellent, plus drinking some fairly questionable water. Woot!
So I waited around for my gate number to be listed, good times. It finally was and I made my way over. I met a guy who had the ridiculous story of spending the last 36 hours trying to get from San Fransico to Austin. He'd had a bundle of bad luck and told me some stories about United and Chicago that made me a little concerned for my flight. They changed the gate we were in but thankfully we noticed it quickly. I don't know if it's Chicago or just United, but chaos seems to reign and the employees look fairly stressed to be redirecting people constantly and announcing cancellations so often. Boarded the plane, I was 17 C and was in the very last row of the plane - yep, one of those planes. Short flight, uneventful, touched down to home. Russ was there waiting. :D
Lovely.
I smell fresh bread coming from my kitchen, so this is when I leave more blogging for later.
Ta-ta!

Destination : Home

I made it out of India alive and sane.

I had a glorious week in Hong Kong with the lovely Matt.

I have flown 18 hours in a span of 24 hours, halfway around the world, across 12 time zones, to arrive here in Texas. Hot but not as humid as where I was.
At Austin, I was picked up by Russ, ferried to my small village. Wimberley.
My parents sadly are not yet home, so I'm making another 24 hour stop before complete arrival.
Tonight I should be home home and then I will sleep for about a week.
See you all on the other side of my incredible spell of hazy jetlag.

Quickie

Roaming around India, tired, with my time running out.
I'm getting less sleep than I need, less food than I desire, and my blood has left my veins for those of my new mosquito friends.
I visited Hampi today and it was fabulous! Why? Greenery, boulders, and most importantly, quiet.
Now I'm about to go off again, to Hyderabad, then to Mumbai, then to Hong Kong, then to the US. I've been travelling for about 3 days straight and I'm about to add 3 more. Yay!
I shall continue my crusade against onions.
Donations are accepted from those of a like mind.
Laters, Allie